The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-08-14
TRACING TITLES OF LAND.
How the Abstracting Business Began
and Has Grown in Importance.
". q. Anderson's Wonderful knowledge Of
Marion County Land Titles-His Death Re-
garded by Lawyers as Great Public Loss.

A gentleman recently died in this city whose
business it is said killed him. He derived good
income from IL and had no endorsements, but
HE care and responsibility attending it's de-
hands wore him out Besides, he had not the
physique to resist the effects of worrying and his
ife closing in it's prime led lawyer to remark
"The death Of w. G. Anderson I regard as a
public calamity" Mr.. Anderson was an alb
]tracter OF titles and is said to have known the
pedigree, we might call it, of every tract
of land in Marion county. This knowledge
was his stock in trade and it required
expenditure Of time and money. A collegiate
education can be bought for few thousands.
but the knowledge an abstracter attains in the
course of years often calls for expenditure of
k25, 900 more. 1t not costly to Mr..
Anderson, for he did himself much of the work
chat others assign to their clerks. He was
culiary adapted to the business, being of quick
intelligence, noticing the faulty and dangerous
clauses Of an instrument almost at glance, and
had the rare faculty Of being able to write
equally well with either hand. His work was
rapid, and, coupled with his knowledge OF titles.
enabled him in the course of year to accom-
plish immense amount of labor He leaves
behind him an accumulation of books relating to
The history of properties in Marion county that
will be Of great value to Others they
TO be sold by the ad ministrator.
Any one who expects to get this library of
Miles for few hundred dollars might well
btay away from the sale. II it is sold at
thousand or two the purchaser will be doing
we'll, for the abstract business, while apparently
simple in its system, means labor and constant
thought for years without then reaching any
thing like perfection. 1t was not general
twenty five years ago as now, when every con-
siderable town has its firm of abstracters or
individuals devoting their time to the business
specially. Lawyers once examined titles but
their methods were cumbersome and Uncertain,
besides being costly. A lawyers fees for this
work from $50 to $50, according to the
responsibility assumed in rendering an opinion
as to the infallibilIty of the chain
OF titles. mortgage overlooked or
interest passed over meant serious conss-
queuces to the purchaser of the property. But
while the attorney, If he made these errors, got
his fees all the same, the purchaser who suffered
had no recourse except in long litigation. When
titles and all that relates to them went into the
hands of the abstracters the business OF many |
lawyers seriously diminished, but the peo- |
pie had the advantage of a system that gave
them a certainty to their holdings. Abstract |
20 by methods. and search the records |
sometimes for weeks in perfecting the alb |
ptract of a piece of property whose history |
fs one of q complication of interests The in |
strument once made out, the holder has a surety |
that wards off many disputes and suits at law.
If the work in preparing it has been especially |
severe the cost is about $50. but the average alb
stract brings the examiner from $40 to $15-quIte
n difference between those figures and the fees |
the lawyers got for like service twenty-five years
ago.
1t is difficult TO learn who at first engaged in |
the examination of titles profession distinct
in itself County recorders in thcr times did |
much of it and it ia likely that several Of those
retiring from Office turned their knowledge OF
the records TO good account. Records OF deeds
and mortgages, increasing year after year to
hundreds of huge volumes, made abstracting as
special calling almost a matter of necessity. As
an instance of the enormous increase OF books
of this kind the records of Marion county alone
for the last twenty years give fair idea The
recorders Office has now 163 more volumes of
deeds than it had in 1867 This covers only
town lots. Another thing is that all this prop
erty is indexed by names It Is a job meaning
hours and hours of careful research to 60 through
these indexes, and this early suggested to the
the property in which the line OF ownership
could be traced at glance. To acquire this Is
the abstracter's first great work. and it is done
by adding little by little to it as his knowledge
comes through search of the personal
indexes. Under the head of lot or farm
described every person who owned IL or had an
interest in It is named. Besides the mortgages,
other Membranes are given, so IL one wants
particulars tract of land he first secures the as
about the ownership from the time il came into
possession of individuals through government
titles. In the East system of insurance 10 in
vogue. An abstract is not given. but the firm
or individual who made the examination fur
nishes paper that warrants a title against all
danger, except to the membranes, mort
cages and interest that may De named In the
guarantee.
Taylor Elliott was. perhaps, the first man in
this city who made the business a speciality. He
was months getting his system in shape before
he thought himself safe to seek for clients, and
since then il has been for him, as 1t Is for all,
and exacting vocation. The income
is not so large would think. in view of
the amount Of money invested. There is q con-
Q tant outlay for information and the large firms
keep always at the recorder Office clerks and
examiners to secure for their each deed and
mortgage it is fled. By this means
they are enabled to have posted up to
date all changes necessary in their
indexes of property. Without these indexes
and when he is com PEELED to search the public
records in each it comes to him, the alb
strecter has hard time Of it. He make
but $50 per month at best but when he has the in
formation at hand the income can be enlarged |
to 81, 500 81. 900, SO. 900. or more per year
BY a readiness in supplying abstracts. Build
na associations have largely helped the bust
ness. but it is singular fact that the abstracter
makes the most of his money when panic has
hold of the community. People such times
ose confidence and sure to require rigid ex-
animation to titles of property upon which |
hey are to take mortgages in the settlement OF
iebts. In ordinary times, when confidence is re-
rored the sellers word for the title is generally
p4nd